‘Transformers 3’ Stunt Goes Awry

CHICAGO (CN) – A woman hired as an extra for “Transformers 3” was permanently disabled with a brain injury by a piece of metal that flew off of a stunt car, her brother claims in Cook County Court. Adolfo Romo sued Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks Studios on behalf of his sister, Gabriela Cedillo.

The incident happened on Sept. 1 while “Transformers 3” was being filmed in Hammond, Ind. While shooting a scene, “a stunt car was being pulled by the use of a cable extended from a flatbed truck,” and that Paramount “intentionally crashed the aforesaid stunt car at a speed in excess of 50 mph by a violent pulling of the cable connections,” Romo says in the 7-count negligence complaint. He says Paramount should have known that crashing the vehicle within 50 feet of extras posed a safety risk. Cedillo was driving her own car in the opposite direction when a piece of metal came loose from the stunt car, became airborne and struck her, according to the complaint. Cedillo, 24, was hit in the head and suffered brain damage, according to press reports. Also named as defendants are Film Industry Location Management Services, aka F.I.L.M.S. and Ryerson Inc., and Paramount employees Allen Nolan-Cohn, Nicholas Rafferty and Nicholas Jamison. Romo demands damages from all defendants for negligence. His lead counsel is Todd Smith with Power, Rogers & Smith.